Paris, Jan. 15 (BNA): About 560,000 coronavirus health cards are at risk of being disabled in France, as new rules regarding booster injections for all adults come into force, the French Ministry of Health said.
From Saturday, adults who got their second Covid-19 vaccine more than seven months ago must get a third booster dose for their passes to remain valid, the German news agency (dpa) reported.
France started rolling out digital health certificates last summer. They provide proof of vaccination or recovery, and are mandatory to enter restaurants, cafes, cultural venues, and other sites.
The government began tightening enhanced traffic rules in mid-December, when adults over the age of 65 began showing evidence of a third strike.
Infections in France have risen dramatically in recent weeks thanks to the more contagious Omicron strain, which now accounts for two-thirds of serial cases.
Recently, authorities reported 329,000 new infections within a single day. The number of recorded infections per 100,000 people nationwide in the last week was 2,829.
With the fifth wave of cases arriving in the country, President Emmanuel Macron is trying to make life difficult for France’s vulnerable minority – less than 10 percent of the adult population.
He wants to keep them away from restaurants, long-distance trains, and cultural activities. For now, they can still enter with evidence of a recent negative test.
Lawmakers had been expected to pass legislation to tighten rules on the unvaccinated this week, but it has faced delays in the National Assembly and the Senate.
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